September 2017 Playthrough - The Last Guardian

[GrayGhost81]

The Last Guardian playthrough has begun!

First checkpoint as well as a few tips and tricks are up.

[MaterialHandlerMike]

I was into this game a lot when it first came out. I got stuck at one point, and couldn't figure it out. Walked away. It is an amazing game, but SoC will always be my favorite of these.

[douglie007]

Until Dawn works for me, I think they had it for a psn game a few months ago. Anyway, Last guardian so far is good, I just got to the point where you can "control" the cat/dog thing lol. Still working out how to do it correctly.

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[MetalFRO]

Man, I've been so behind on play-throughs.  I was hoping maybe this would be something I could do, but I still don't have a PS4 yet, so I'll have to pass it by as well.  Sigh.  Maybe next month...

You may want to get a PS4 before next month.

Good grief, you guys are on a roll with the PS4 stuff.  Sadly, I don't think it's in the budget for this month.  Maybe I'll get one as my Christmas present to myself, so I can finally play my Darius Burst CS game, and get the Raiden V package from Amazon with the soundtrack CD, but I probably won't be able to justify it before then, since I have some home improvement stuff I have to do before winter comes.

[singlebanana]

On a roll. This is the first PS4 exclusive game we've ever played. 🙄

[GrayGhost81]

Has anyone had a chance to start The Last Guardian yet? I'm dying to get the discussion started.

[Addicted]

I can discuss the game.

[GrayGhost81]

I can discuss the game.

Awesome. There really aren't any story points of note before my first checkpoint (though there is a major one right after it), so I'm going to throw a few things out here.

My first impressions of everything in this game weren't the greatest. Team Ico games (and yes, I know this isn't technically team Ico, but it is, so let's just call them that) are already alien in their style and especially controls when compared to mainstream games, but it did take me a little while to get used to the boy's herky jerky movement.

Further, I had issues getting used to moving on and around Trico within the first hour or so of the game. As I noted in the OP, it is very different from climbing a colossus. In fact, it is almost the opposite in how hard it is to get off of Trico.

Once I got used to everything however, I couldn't put the game down. A few of my play sessions were more than three hours long. I have to say, the game is very back-loaded and everything plot and gameplay wise really ramps up in the last four to six hours of the game. But even knowing that now and looking back, I was engrossed after the first two or three hours of the game.

I think the technical issues with this game are largely overblown. I'm using a PS4 Pro, and though I'm extremely sick of hearing about the framerates of every single game ever released, it was fine for me here. I will agree that there are some camera issues, but as I noted in my Attack on Titan review a few months back, I think this is understandable in a game where you have gigantic NPCs in small spaces.

I think Trico's design is amazing. It is very cat-like and I am a cat person. I'm not afraid to say I spent a lot of time petting Trico. I found it to be extremely relaxing. There is a game on the Wii called Endless Ocean where you can swim around and touch fish and it is very pleasant. My wife and I called it the "Pet the fishies game" and I like that game for the same reasons. I've seen tons of reviews arguing that Trico's ai is broken more often than not, and I cannot argue with that. For me, it clicked more often than not and that was enough to immerse me and truly feel the bond between the boy and Trico.

[Addicted]

I agree that the controls are a bit stiff but it wasn't enough to make me quit in frustration. The boy does stick to Trico like glue an I had a couple times where I was trying to let go of Trico but instead ended up clipping through him and then falling through the environment. My main issue with the game is the telegraphing of the controls. There is a certain point in the game where a certain command is needed but you have to remember it from a prompt that appeared hours ago. The in game control menu only shows the basic controls.

With that said I thought Trico's scripting is well done and behaves similar to a dog or a cat. I did run in to scripting issues but they didn't make me feel disconnected from the experience. A dog and especially cat doesn't always do what you want it to and I expected the same from Trico. I felt connected to Trico and would always spend time healing Trico after a battle. The cry Trico makes as you remove the spears also tugged at me and helped make the bird/cat/dog a believable character.

The games environments do a great job at evoking a sense of wonder and adventure. I noticed a bit of slowdown but nothing that would deter from the experience.

I agree that the plot really picks up in the later half of the game. Did you watch past the credits?

[Disposed Hero]

I finally started the game last night and put about an hour into it.  I have to agree with most points so far.  The controls and the overall feel of the game were off-putting at first, but I got used to it after a while.  I haven't had much of an issue with getting stuck on Trico yet, but I do find it annoying how the boy gets stuck on or stumbles over everything in the environment.

I have to agree with the points made about Trico himself.  Trico's design, mannerisms, and reactions all feel very genuine.  As someone who has owned cats all of my life, I feel like I can sense what Trico is thinking just by observing his reactions to what's going on around him.

[GrayGhost81]

Our week two checkpoint is now live. This will bring us to roughly the halfway point of the game.

[singlebanana]

Some of you will be happy to know that my PS4 is finally hooked up!  With that, the first game I popped in was the Last Guardian.  I've been playing for two nights and managed to reach the first checkpoint.

My first impressions so far are very positive.  I love the choice of narration in this game. At the beginning, it acts as a tutorial, but then you realized that the game is a story being told by an older man and that he was the boy; it's a very cool concept. I can understand some issues with the camera, but honestly, I haven't experienced anything overly negative or had any real issues.  Controls to me are fine. A lot of the platforming/climbing reminds me of SotC, which is a very positive thing for me. Controlling Trico can be a little aggravating at times, but oddly fits with the game. If you've ever owned a pet, you know that they don't always listen.  However, this even gets a little better toward the end of the first checkpoint, where you are able to instruct Trico so that he mimics your actions.  It's really cool.  I'll mimic what Addicted and Disposed said about Trico, WOW, the way it moves and reacts is simply stunning and on point with cats, and even in my case, my dog. So well done.

I've heard people in reviews complain about the art style, but you won't get any from me.  Most of these are concerns regarding the game being moved from the PS3 to PS4. The game has a very beautiful, watercolor look that I am very fond of. It follows a great tradition of captivating art seen in Ico & SotC; Ueida definitely has his stamp on this game and as always, it's clear from the beginning. Stunning!

Speaking of Ico and SotC, I see other similarities other than the artwork. One includes being thrown into a story with little to no background. This is a mix between the two games in that while you have a more useful companion than you did in Ico, there is that same sense of loneliness that you feel in SotC. The statue enemies also remind me of the shadow people in Ico, their purpose is to grab (not specifically damage you) and you can get away even after "captured."  Much like Ico, there are more puzzle elements and platforming; while SotC is more open world, LG is more linear like Ico.  Anxious to hear other's thoughts and comparisons of these games.  

[singlebanana]

Checkpoint #2 achieved!

I put in a few hours last night with the game again.  My kids and wife have really being enjoying watching this game.  They are captivated by the graphics and of course, are all in love with Trico (he bears somewhat of a resemblance to our dog that departed 2 years ago, so there's that).  I got say, this game is not for the acrophobic. My family members are not a big fan of heights and it creates a lot of tension.  My son was screaming when I attempted jumps and I could see my daughter holding her hands over her eyes at times.  There was also a lot of chaos and screaming when I was being chased by enemies.  This tension really got me thinking, "Why do we all care so much?  It's just a game."  I think the answer lies in that the developers have succeeded in creating characters you know very little about in terms of background, but for some reason, you still love and care for.  That's pretty powerful storytelling, even though one only faintly exists.

[GrayGhost81]

Rich, that's awesome! Though this game has some pretty hefty emotional themes, it is definitely ok for the whole family. Though I played by myself, I can relate to there being a ruckus as I screamed out loud more than a few times in amazement while playing. This usually was followed by my wife asking me if I was ok from another room.

To me, the bond between the boy and Trico absolutely makes the game. Having watched many reviews of the game after playing it, it seems whether or not you drink the koolaid and buy in to that relationship is directly proportional to how forgiving you are to camera and control issues (which, again, I think are incredibly exaggerated anyway).

[Disposed Hero]

are all in love with Trico (he bears somewhat of a resemblance to our dog that departed 2 years ago, so there's that).

I can relate to this.  Trico's face (especially his eyes) reminds me of a stray cat I took care of for a couple of years and got pretty attached to.  He got hit by a car back in March. 

I need to get back to this game.  I don't think I've even hit the first checkpoint yet.  Don't want to fall behind like I did with Shining Force II! (which I'm still working on btw, just reached Moun!  )